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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29295852">Nothing Less</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/edenbound/pseuds/edenbound'>edenbound</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy VIII</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:42:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,911</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29295852</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/edenbound/pseuds/edenbound</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Squall's spent some time tracking Seifer down, and now he has an offer for him... if Seifer's willing to prove himself.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Seifer Almasy/Squall Leonhart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Nothing Less</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The apartment is in a dingy old building, probably converted from some kind of office. Squall looks it over with narrowed eyes, noting the details, the accesses and escape routes. He wasn't convinced, when Zell told him where he'd tracked Seifer down to. The area doesn't suit his pride at all. But he's also not convinced that anywhere better looking would have housed the disgraced Sorceress Knight, and at least each floor has two fire escapes, one on each side. It's not a death trap, and Seifer's not an idiot, so maybe he is here after all.</p><p>It takes some trial and error to find the right room, because Zell didn't track him that far -- "dude, Seifer's not going to talk to me even if I offer him SeeD rank on a platter, and he's more likely to <em>run </em>if he sees me; this is your show" -- but Squall's persistent, and knocking on doors gets him a few answers and one or two people who know which floor the blond in a trenchcoat lives on. Squall can be patient.</p><p>When he finally knocks on Seifer's door, he still hasn't figured out exactly what he's going to say, but in the end it comes easily as soon as Seifer opens the door. "There's a place for you in Garden," he says.</p><p>Seifer looks tired. Strained. But there's still a light in his eyes and a wry humour to the twist of his mouth. He's not broken, no matter his circumstances, no matter what's happened to him. "What's the catch?"</p><p></p><div>
  <p></p>
  <div>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>Squall shrugs. "You need to pass your SeeD exam."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>He shakes his head. "You're four months too late. I'm twenty now. And I'd have to sit at least two more classes to qualify again for the exam. Probably more, if you've been changing things around." </p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Changed the rules." Another shrug. "There were no exams during the war, and a lot of disruptions to classes and assessment, so I extended the eligibility window. It just so happens that you fall within those rules."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Just a coincidence, I'm sure."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>Squall doesn't bother answering that. He just waits.</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"And what's the other catch?" Seifer asks. "What're you offering me?"</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Me," Squall says. "As long as you pass your exam. Nothing less than top of the class."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"What's that even mean?"</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>He huffs out a breath and fights the urge to drop it all now, just give up and walk away because it can't be worth all this hassle... Except it is. Seifer is. And he doesn't think he's alone in this, in what he wants. He's sure he isn't. "What do you want it to mean?"</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"I want to spar with you like we used to."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Yes."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"I want you to actually talk to me sometimes instead of freezing me out."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Yes."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"I want you to kiss me."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Yes."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>Seifer drags in a shaky breath, takes a step closer. "I want you to be with me."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Yes," Squall says, meeting his eyes.</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"I want you to live with me," and he takes a step closer, "I want -- "</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Yes," Squall says, but he steps back and away from Seifer's reaching hand. "If you pass all your classes and ace your exam."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>Seifer looks for a moment like he's been struck, but then he lowers his hand and smirks. "Right. I'll get my reward if I'm a really good boy. Where do I sign up?"</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"We're leaving now."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>He glances around the apartment, grabs an old carrier bag and throws two books into it and a bundle of clothes. Squall refuses to pity him, but his heart squeezes in his chest as Seifer picks that up and Hyperion's case and nods.</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Let's go."</p>
    </div>
    <hr/>
    <p>Seifer's initial test results are, predictably, everything he promised. Squall's sure that the whole class are sending up a prayer of thanks that the grade boundaries are set in advance and there's no curve to worry about. So it's partly that and partly the itch for a real challenge that has him crossing the cafeteria to stand beside Seifer's table. He's with a couple of people from his class, but he stands when Squall comes over, shutting anyone else out of the conversation by turning his back.</p>
    <p>"Commander," he says, teasing. "What can I do for you?"</p>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>"Saw your test results. You want to spar?"</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>Squall doesn't miss the way his eyes light up; it's what he was hoping for, watching for. Has he ever known anyone else this well? Ever wanted to? "Now?"</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>He shrugs. "When are you free?"</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"I -- damn, only for an hour right now. After class?"</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"I'll meet you at the usual place."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>Squall turns away without a goodbye after that -- knowing Seifer doesn't need one -- and rolls his eyes at the immediate hiss of excitement among the group Seifer was with. "Can we come watch?" one of them asks.</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"No," Seifer says, firmly, which is something of a relief. It'd be like having an audience for -- for something like kissing. It's intimate, passionate, because they don't hold back. Because they have to stay so totally in sync or they will hurt one another, and because that synchronicity demands so much of them, every ounce of concentration and feeling. He's never liked sharing their duels with any kind of spectators, even if he never quite understood why before now.</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>Squall heads for his office. He can clear most of his paperwork while Seifer's in class, and get free for the day.</p>
    </div>
    <hr/>
    <p>Seifer grabs a bottle of water, downs half of it in one go, and tosses it over to Squall to take his turn. It's late in the day for them to spar, and it's too hot, sweat making their clothes sticky and the heat weighing them down. It's all part of the challenge, and Squall relishes it like he's relished nothing in months. He can feel his heart still pounding after their fight, his lungs working; he can feel his blood surging. He hasn't felt so alive since the morning of his own SeeD exam.</p>
    <p>Seifer is watching him, shading his eyes against the sun. "Why my SeeD exam? Why all the conditions?"</p>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>Squall shrugs. "I needed you to come back to Garden, and I needed you to work for it. I can't just give you a SeeD rank and let you move in."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Politics, then." Seifer makes a face.</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Not just that." Squall glances at him, through his hair, letting it hang in his eyes and camouflage some of his thoughts. "You need to prove yourself. You might act tough, but what you've always really wanted is to be the best. So prove it to me."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Yeah? I think you've been spending too much time with Rinoa, you're starting to sound like her."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Whatever," Squall says, mostly just because it's the expected response, and his heart pounds more at the way Seifer smiles. If he hadn't set those stupid rules, he'd kiss Seifer now, press him into the rock and kiss him again and again until their mouths felt bruised with it. He'd drink in his breath, the heat of him, the surety of him, and he'd never stop.</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>He looks away, and in the silence he knows that Seifer has seen it on him. He knows the shape of the ragged breath Seifer's drawn in, without needing to hear it. The silence holds for a moment and then there's a scuff of boot on rock and Seifer's lifting Hyperion again.</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Come on. Let's not waste my afternoon off," he says. "You've got better, but I'm still going to make you yield before we leave."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Then we'll be here a long time," Squall tells him, lifting Lionheart again and feeling... feeling whole, like he hasn't in months, like they are each only half of something better, something they glimpse when they fight while they're moving as one, giving way and then pressing home the advantage and then falling back by turns.</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>Seifer attacks, and Squall's blade meets his, straining -- and flicks it aside. Seifer's inside his guard again a moment later, and Squall counters, and he barely knows what to call the way he feels right now but he thinks it might be joy.</p>
    </div>
    <hr/>
    <p>It's late. The dorms are silent, for the most part, apart from the odd giggle behind closed doors, and the other small sounds of kids sneaking around. Squall's not here for that, though, and frankly he doesn't care what they get up to. He knocks on the door of Seifer's room.</p>
    <p>Seifer's awake -- he opens the door too quickly to have been asleep, though he's dressed for bed. He blinks. "What're you doing here?"</p>
    <p></p>
    <div>
      <p>"Hi to you too," Squall says, and pushes past Seifer into the room. He has no wish to play this out in front of any onlookers who get curious, or worse, recognise his voice. Seifer shuts the door behind him.</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asks. "Finally coming to offer yourself to me? I haven't passed yet."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>Squall takes a moment, looking around. Seifer's roommate is out -- in another dorm room maybe, or the infirmary, or the Training Center. It makes this easier, so Squall's not going to complain. "The original conditions still stand. I just thought you might need some motivation."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"You have no idea how suggestive that could sound."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"If it doesn't sound suggestive, I'm not trying hard enough."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>Seifer barks a laugh. "Squall Leonhart, trying to be alluring. I never thought I'd see the day."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>Squall huffs a little, looking away. "I'm not trying to be alluring. I'm trying -- forget it. I'll go."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>Seifer grabs his shoulder before he can even turn. "Sorry. Look, I -- I'm not used to you being like this. To not needing to... push you to get a reaction. Don't go."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"I wasn't going to stay long anyway." Squall takes a step in below Seifer's guard, tilting his head up. It's satisfying that Seifer almost stops breathing, that Squall can see the bob of throat as he swallows and then feel the shaky puff of air against his cheek. Seifer doesn't move, though, and Squall lets himself reach out, resting a hand on Seifer's chest lightly, enough to feel the urgent pound of his heart.</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>"Squall -- "</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>A beat, two, three, and then Squall drops his hand and pulls away. Seifer's eyes are a little dilated, his breathing a little fast, and Squall feels a tug of desire -- a wild moment of wanting, during which he pictures how he could get Seifer up against the wall behind him, pin one of his wrists and kiss him. Or how Seifer could back him against the door, put a proprietary hand on his hip and --</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>He cuts himself off. Raises his eyes to Seifer's again. "You need to pass that exam. First time."</p>
    </div>
    <div>
      <p>Seifer nods. Clears his throat a little. "I'll do it. Soon."</p>
    </div>
    <hr/>
    <p>Squall leaves the ball early. He makes sure that Seifer sees him, waits for their eyes to meet across the room, and then nods. He knows Seifer will follow, so he heads to his own room to wait.</p>
    <p>Seifer barely waits for him to say "come in" before he's through the door. Before he's slamming it behind him and fumbling with the collar of his uniform, yanking it open in impatient pulls. "Can't believe you made me actually attend graduation," he mutters. Squall goes over to him and takes over, unhooking the uniform jacket in a couple of quick movements and pushing it open. Seifer's hands are on him immediately, pushing his jacket off, pulling him closer, failing to actually settle anywhere. "You're a goddamn tease. And I can't believe -- " his hands close on Squall's shoulders and he takes a deep breath, like he's steadying himself. "I saw my room allocation. Squall -- "</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"You said you wanted to live with me."</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"I do. Fuck, Squall -- " he's back to trying to get Squall's clothes off, and it's possible that his hands are shaking. "Squall."</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"I'm here."</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"Always have been," Seifer says, and he's cupping Squall's cheek now, looking at him like -- like he's a wonder.</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"Not always like I should've been. But I'm here now." He tugs Seifer closer, leans up, and this time he tugs him <em>down</em> a little so their mouths meet, clumsy, a bump of teeth before they adjust. Seifer groans into it, overcome, and Squall deepens it, a bolt of heat shooting through him as Seifer's hands land on his hips and Seifer's mouth opens against his. He'd never really understood how this could be good before, but now it's like burning up. It's like a duel, and they feel their way into it so that when Squall pulls away from the kiss to finish getting Seifer undressed, Seifer's already shedding his shirt. Squall undoes his own belts and watches Seifer's eyes snap to his hands and then back up to his face.</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"We're really doing this," he says, and Squall nods.</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"Unless you've changed your mind."</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"Never." </p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>Squall nods and keeps going, toeing his boots off to get them out of the way, and then it just seems easier to strip, to leave his clothes in a heap on top of his boots, and Seifer's stood there looking at him with his pants half-undone, just staring, before he remembers himself and kicks them away too, leaving his clothes in an equally messy heap as he reaches for Squall and starts backing him toward the bed.</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"You ever done this before?"</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"No," Squall says, and because it's Seifer and he probably knows already, "never really wanted to, it just didn't make sense to me, until Rinoa made me put the pieces together."</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"Yeah?" Seifer's nudging him onto the bed, crawling over him, and Squall lies back and looks up at Seifer braced over him and wants like he's never wanted in his life, his body humming with it from head to foot.</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"It's how we are when we fight," he admits, running his hand over Seifer's chest to really feel the heat and solidity of him. "I think -- I think we'll move like that, together, like this. I -- "</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"Like this?" Seifer asks, pressing close now, skin on skin and everywhere. There's no room to reach between them, Squall's cock rubbing up close to Seifer's, both pretty much fully hard. Squall has no more words, and can't fathom why they're trying to do anything with words anyway. He can just barely get a grip on Seifer's hair, so he does, tugging him down with that grip for leverage so they can kiss again. Their mouths move slickly together, and Squall pushes his hips up a little and tastes Seifer's startled exhale.</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"Like this," he affirms, because he can't stand to stop now, and Seifer groans. They grind together, slow, nothing like the pace of their fights. Seifer kisses him through it, one hand bracing part of his weight and the other tangling in Squall's hair. It feels impossibly good, even just this, the drag of Seifer's skin against his and the heat of them together, a little slick now. Squall bites at Seifer's lower lip and kisses him again, kisses him hard, pushes up against him and feels them moving together, closer than they've ever been before.</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>It's a slow burn of rising pleasure, but it's perfect, the tight tensing pull of desire between them like the moment in the middle of a duel when the outcome is on a knife's edge, when either of them could win or lose and they hold each other there in balance. Squall lets it build like that, till Seifer's making involuntary sounds like it almost hurts, like he's breaking open, and Squall knows exactly what he's feeling because he's feeling the same. He finds some leverage and rolls them over, gets Seifer beneath him and kisses him again, pressing him into the pillow. Seifer's fingers clench in his hair, a sharp sting, and it's perfect, and it's going to be over far too fast.</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"Give into it," Seifer breathes. "C'mon. Let me see you. We can do it all over again in a minute, just -- "</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>Squall kisses him again, again, grinding against him in shuddery little jerks now. "You too, then."</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>"Yeah," he says, and then, "shit, Squall -- "</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>It hits them both at the same time, as he'd wanted, a seizing rolling wave of it, and Squall's barely aware of what his body's doing, of the sounds he's making, but it feels amazing. He crushes their mouths together and kisses Seifer the whole time, keeps kissing him afterwards, and Seifer holds onto him too and kisses back each and every time.</p>
  </div>
  <hr/>
  <p>"I do not want to know what the two of you have been up to," Zell announces, watching them walk into the cafeteria together, the next morning. Irvine just stares, and then nods slowly, like he's suddenly got the answer to <em>so</em> many questions. Squall is very conscious of the mark he's made on Seifer's neck, and the matching one Seifer insisted on giving him. He refuses to blush.</p>
  <p>"Your mouth says one thing, but I'm hearing something else," Seifer says, grabbing a chair. "You want to hear all the details about how I -- "</p>
  <p></p>
  <div>
    <p>"What? Ew!" Zell throws a scrap of bread at Seifer, who bats it away and sits. "Oh no, no way. You are not sitting here with us."</p>
  </div>
  <div>
    <p>Squall rolls his eyes and leaves them bickering. Coffee is calling his name. And Seifer -- Seifer is where he belongs.</p>
  </div>
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